Just the job on a cold wintery evening. I really love meat and potato pie but rarely have the time to stove cook the filling – so my slow cooker version was born!

This is classic pie filling that can bubble away all day in the slow cooker and be transformed into a big comforting pie by just popping a sheet of shortcrust pastry over the top and finishing it off in the oven.

You don’t have to follow my veg ratios, they are just what I had lying around – you can add whatever you like, parsnips are yummy in there too.

Ingredients:

1 pack (mine was 400g) diced beef

3 medium potatoes

1 large carrot

1 onion

A handful chopped celery

Approx. 400ml gravy (just make a jug of your normal gravy, I think Bisto granules say their serving makes around 385ml so this is perfect)

1 sheet ready rolled shortcrust pastry.

Optional but yummy – a splash of worcester sauce (I am a Yorkshire bird so I use Henderson’s Relish) or a dollop of marmite